Of all the things I have been told over the years by apologists for the military, that soldiers are just doing their jobs is overwhelmingly the thing I am told the majority of the time.

Even as U.S. troops return to Iraq, some critics of further military action will still say that we need to support the troops because they are just following orders, they didn't ask to go back to Iraq, they didn't write their job description, they joined the military because they were patriotic, they are just serving their country, they had no choice but to join the military because they were unemployed, and, of course, they are just doing their jobs.